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Glite Dictionary
📢 To request ⚠️ To require
to call for

to call for

359 3.2
Need something because the situation makes it necessary
  • phrasal verb
  • /kɔl fɔr/
: requerir
  • The methodology calls for a fast-track approach for around 80 percent of the changes.
  • call for greater attention
  • call for new approach
  • call for a review

And now that coupling can often call for transformation.

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Examples

  • And perhaps most importantly, it calls for us to be honest with ourselves.

  • This situation calls for quick action to prevent further damage.

  • Hard decisions call for hard solutions.

    The Running Man (1987)

  • This calls for an older head, see?

    This Could Be the Night (1957)

  • This calls for a celebration.

    Midnight Run (1988)

  • I think the occasion calls for a celebration.

    Bringing Up Baby (1938)

  • The festive nature of the occasion calls for a truly special treat.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • This calls for some drastic measures.

    Kicking & Screaming (2005)

  • Forgive me if it seems like I'm rushing things, but the case calls for urgent action.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The forced evacuation of so many people from their presumably poisoned homes calls for ethical scrutiny.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

to need
vsto call for
∞ 1.0

To require something because it is important

focuses on necessity created by a situation or purpose rather than inner lack
to take
vsto call for
∞ 1.0

Need a certain amount of time or space

refers to necessity for a situation rather than capacity or storage
to require
vsto call for
∞ 1.1

Need something because a rule or situation makes it necessary

is about necessity caused by a situation or purpose rather than rules
to demand
vsto call for
311 2.1

To need something because a job or situation must have it

is used when necessity comes from the situation rather than from forceful expectation
to necessitate
vsto call for
  • Formal
24 6.3

To make something needed as a result

is used when a situation or purpose makes something necessary

How Necessary

to mandate
  • Formal
169 4.9
to compel
258 4.8
to require
∞ 1.1
to call for
359 3.2
to recommend
∞ 2.1
to allow
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

call for infinitive
called for past
called for past participle
calling for present participle
calls for third person singular

Morphology

call + for

The sense 'to require' is partly inferable because 'call' can mean 'to ask/request' and 'for' marks the thing being requested, so one can interpret 'this calls for X' as 'this situation asks/demands X'. However, the mapping is metaphorical (a situation 'asking' for something) and not strictly compositional or fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is best described as only partially transparent.

Etymology

Call for comes from imagining a situation that seems to 'call' out for what it needs, like a recipe that calls for two eggs. That's why it now means 'to require' or 'be necessary'.